The Chalice & The Firefly

A chalice and a firefly were once great friends. They spent countless hours in conversation, and never tired of each other’s company. In fact, they were so kindred that the firefly insisted they must be brother and sister -- twins, even. The chalice very much enjoyed this idea. She often repeated it to herself when she was alone.
 
But, at the same time, she grew anxious. What if the firefly realized they weren’t so very much alike? Would he feel betrayed? She could bear his disappointment, but not the possibility of his abandonment. So, rather than wait for an unhappy epiphany, she decided to tell her friend the truth.
 
“There is something I must say,” she announced to him one morning. The sun had just crested the horizon, throwing shadows so long they couldn’t lay straight. “You are not a chalice.”
 
The firefly, who was perched on her lip, appeared to think about this statement. His abdomen, so bright in the late afternoon and deep into their shared evenings, hummed with a faint electrical current. Then he spread his wings and flew away.
 
His response made the chalice feel distraught, but she wasn't surprised. After all, it seemed inevitable that her friend would experience confusion, and even anger. He’d been deprived of his twin, the person dearest to him in the entire world! She could only hope that time would repair this rift between them.
 
So it was unexpected when the firefly returned the following morning.
 
“I’ve thought about what you said,” he told the chalice, perching once again on her lip. “At first I didn’t understand, but now it makes perfect sense. You’re a firefly!”
 
The chalice was amused by this insight, but otherwise she was possessed by a deep melancholy. “No,” she said, in what sounded, to her, like an apology. “I am not a firefly and you are not a chalice.”
 
The firefly flew away again, and this time he didn’t return the following day. It wasn’t long before the chalice began to question herself. It may hve been right to tell her friend the truth, but had it been necessary? The more she thought about it, the more she wished to revisit her decision. She missed her twin even more than she'd expected.
 
Thus, she was overjoyed when he returned on the second day. “I’ve been thinking—” the firefly said, but the chalice happily interrupted him.
 
“Yes!”
 
“It took me a while to understand,” he continued. “But if you're not a firefly and I'm not a chalice, then only one thing makes sense—we’re both receptacles!”
 
“Pardon?” said the chalice.
 
“Receptacles!” the firefly repeated, with the same amount of enthusiasm. Then, possibly feeling a bit disheartened, he added, “Aren’t we?”
 
“Yes,” said the chalice, because she knew she was talking to her twin. “Yes, we are receptacles. Or,” she posited, “maybe we are also daydreams.”
 
“Daydreams? No, that’s dumb. Don’t be dumb.”
 
So the chalice agreed and the two resumed their conversation.